Artwork

Attention, Gargouillet, v'la le bourgeois qui passe...

Attention, Gargouillet, v'la le bourgeois qui passe..., by Honoré Daumier, ink, 1842
Attention, Gargouillet, v'la le bourgeois qui passe..., by Honoré Daumier, ink, 1842

Attention, Gargouillet, v'la le bourgeois qui passe... is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Honoré Daumier. It dates from 1842 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Attention, Gargouillet, v'la le bourgeois qui passe.

About this work

Overview

Attention, Gargouillet, v'la le bourgeois qui passe... is a 1842 lithograph by Honoré Daumier, created for mass circulation on newsprint.

Subject & Meaning

The print depicts a bourgeois man in a top hat being pointed at by a figure from a lower social class, satirizing class tensions in mid-19th-century France.

Technique & Style

Daumier employed lithography to produce the work, a medium suited to his role as a visual commentator on contemporary life, using humor and exaggeration to critique social hierarchies.

Context

The work reflects Daumier's republican democratic stance, critiquing the bourgeoisie during a period of political upheaval in France, as seen in his contributions to publications like La Caricature and Le Charivari.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Honoré Daumier

Artist

Honoré Daumier

Honoré-Victorin Daumier was a French painter, sculptor, and printmaker, whose many works offer commentary on the social and political life in France, from the Revolution of 1830 to the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: National Gallery of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.